Daily News Notes: 15th & 16th April, 2012

• ·         The overall inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, in March eased to 6.89 %. In March last year, it was 9.68 per cent.
• ·         India's ship building and repairs industry is likely to touch 9,200 crore rupees by 2015 owing to robust demand in the domestic market and adequate availability of skilled workforce. This was revealed by the Indian Industry ASSOCHAM in its report. The ASSOCHAM said the country accounts for just about one per cent of the global ship building industry, which is over seven lakh crore rupees. The report said, lower costs of labour, availability of skilled workforce together with robust demand in the domestic market and a growing steel industry are certain factors that build up a strong case for the sector in India.
• ·         The All India Council for Technical Education, AICTE will soon launch an academic networking site, along with an in-house job portal and a repository of doctorate papers to check duplication and cheating in research papers. The central database will link up with an industry database of eight thousand stakeholders and help to facilitate the placement process.
• ·         Experts taking part in a panel discussion on agricultural technology here over the weekend laid emphasis on giving a fillip to farm technology and underscored the need for adopting modern methods to boost farm productivity, even as the country's agro-based economy is stated to be on the threshold of a second green revolution. Plant biotechnology could help address issues related to limited resources like water and fertile land, impact of climate change and growing dependence on chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides, pointed out the speakers. Some scientist said there was “no correlation” between biotechnology and loss of biodiversity,  “Biodiversity means enhancing crops by adding genes to make it more productive. One can supplement the other,” they said, while affirming that technical varieties of seeds being stored in gene banks should be used to analyse their potential impact on farm produce.
• ·         The Union Ministry of Labour is implementing National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in 266 districts of the country for rehabilitation of children rescued/withdrawn from work. Under the Project, children withdrawn from work are enrolled in the special schools, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, nutrition, stipend, health care, etc. before mainstreaming them into formal education system. Under the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)Act, 1986, any person who employs a child (under 14 yrs) in any occupation or process where employment of  children is prohibited under the Act, is liable for punishment. The 2001 national census of India estimated the total number of child labour, aged 5–14, to be at 17 million. Out of the 12.6 million, 0.12 million engages in hazardous job. Also, India has the highest number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age. Although the Constitution of India guarantees free and compulsory education to children between the age of 6 to 14 and prohibits employment of children younger than 14 in 18 hazardous occupations and 65 hazardous processes, child labour is prevalent in almost all informal sectors of the Indian economy.
• ·         The Union Minister for Rural Development said that Performance Audit of MGNREGA by the Comptroller and Auditor General for all the States (from 2007 to 2011) will be placed before Parliament by the end of Winter Session of Parliament this year. He informed that the Rural Development Ministry spends about 40,000 crore rupees each year on the job guarantee scheme. The Minister also informed that from this year, it will be compulsory for every Gram Panchayat to be certified by a Chartered Accountant, drawn up from a district level panel prepared by CAG. He said, the audit of Indira Aawas Yojana will be taken up next year and the audit system will be extended to other schemes of the Ministry gradually. Generals of the States in the Drinking Water Supply Scheme, Shri Ramesh said that CAG will ensure that all the States will follow the Tamil Nadu model of audit, which is an integrated system supervised by a Board.
• ·         India is working on developing its own 90-seater civilian aircraft (National Civil Aircraft, NCA-90) with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) saying “the strategy for its production has already been evolved” with the design “planned to have unique features like enhanced fuel efficiency, use of bio fuel with low carbon footprint, short to long range haul, shorter air strip requirement and ultra modern avionics”. The Planning Commission says the aircraft will be tailored to suit market requirements and will have attractive operating economics. It estimates that “the design and development of the aircraft would cost Rs 4,355 crore. The estimated series production cost would be another Rs 3,200 crore”. Bangalore-based National Aerospace Laboratories NAL had earlier developed India’s first multi purpose 14-seater civilian aircraft Saras. But on March 6, 2009, two IAF test pilots along with a flight test engineer were killed when the second prototype crashed 30 km from Bangalore. According to the CSIR, most developed countries have their own national aircraft. “It is a niche technology. No country wants to share it with others. India has its desired expertise through NAL to develop its very own national civilian aircraft”. Developing the NCA-90, officials say, will not only put India as part of this elite group but will also develop the ancillary industry.
• ·         The absence of Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee may take some zing away from Monday’s CMs meeting convened by the Centre on internal security, but the presence of heavyweight CMs like J Jayalalitha, Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik might keep the focus on federal issues. In the run-up to the meeting convened by home minister P Chidambaram, several CMs have indicated that they intend to highlight the federal aspects of combating crime, insurgency and terrorism with Gujarat CM writing to the PM opposing the BSF being given powers of arrest and seizure. While official sources said some paramilitary outfits already had the powers that were now being given to BSF, the government is expected to justify the move by pointing to a declining trend in violence with Naxal-related casualties down to around 600 in 2011-12 from a little more than 1,000 in 2010-11. Mamata Banerjee will be represented by finance minister Amit Mitra and according to reports, no reason has been assigned for the Bengal CM’s decision to not attend the meet. While her absence will draw comment, it is understood that she will attend the discussion convened by the PM specifically on the contentious National Counter-Terrorism Centre on May 5. The NCTC initiative has been blocked by a cohort of states like Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh objecting to the proposal to provide the new outfit, under the Intelligence Bureau, powers of seizure and arrest anywhere in India.
• ·         Indian Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister is in London for the 8th round of India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) Meeting with his counterpart. The JETCO was established on 13 January 2005 in New Delhi to steer the strategic economic partnership between the two countries following the historic Joint Declaration “India-UK towards a new and dynamic partnership” between Prime Ministers Dr. Manmohan Singh and Tony Blair in September 2004 in London. The JETCO has been conceived as a business driven institutional framework to enhance trade and investment both ways. Further, the outcomes of the discussions in the Britain-India Infrastructure Group (BIIG), which has been meeting separately were also taken onboard during the Plenary Session. Both sides agreed to concentrate on Education and Skills Development and innovation and healthcare technology, particularly cardiology. Shri Sharma referred to the need for improving the regulatory environment for investments. He pointed out that Indian companies who want to acquire companies in the UK have been facing considerable delay and long legal hassles. He highlighted the concerns of Indian companies who want to visit UK for business meetings and also the long delay in obtaining Visa by Indian nationals. Shri Sharma also flagged the issue of the restrictions imposed on non-EU immigration into the UK which is adversely affecting the operations of Indian companies in the UK. He also expressed concern that this move may force Indian companies, especially IT companies to relocate to other European capitals. Dr. Vince Cable emphasised the British Government's desire to further strengthen the ties with India. He referred to the Global Investment Conference (theme “Regional Growth, Opportunities, Trade and Foreign Direct Investment”) which the British Government is organizing at Lancaster House one day before the London Olympics started, as an initiative to drive the world economy out of the crisis.
• ·         India is all set to host World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2012 tomorrow in New Delhi . The fifth edition of the coveted event is being organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), in partnership with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology. WITFOR will focus, on use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human Development’. Since its inception in 2003, World IT Forums have been held four times–in Vietnam (2009), Ethiopia (2007), Botswana (2005) and Lithuania (2003). The activities of the Forum are broadly guided by the World Summit on the Information Society's (WSIS) Plan of Action, in order to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Leaders from multilateral organisations like UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and from regional bodies like the West African Health Organisation will share their experiences in meeting the challenges of globalisation and sustainable development. Also, WITFOR 2012 will give Indian States an opportunity to showcase their premier e-Governance projects and innovations (such as Aakash, value added services delivered on Mobile Platforms etc.), and give international delegates an opportunity to visit such projects across India. It has been decided that the WITFOR 2013 will be held in Paraguay.
• ·         The PEW Charitable Trust (an eminent American non-profit organisation) in its report held that India has emerged as one of the top performing clean energy economies in the 21^st century, with Indian receiving US $10.2 billion investments in clean energy. India's clean energy (or renewable or alternate energy) sector sustained to flourish in 2011, with private investment raising 54% to $10.2 billion, placing India at 6^th position amid the G-20 nations. The report stated that India’s National Solar Mission led to a 7 times increase in solar energy investments. This led to an increase worth of 4.2 billion dollars.
• ·         Seeking to speed up bilateral cooperation and enhance economic engagement, India and Pakistan have decided to fast-track the ongoing talks for trade in petroleum products and electricity. The issue of opening bank branches in each other's country would also be taken up on priority. During the discussions, both sides agreed to draw a road map for further reductions in the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) sensitive lists. The Ministers expressed their wish that the business visa regime needed to be liberalised at the earliest.
• ·         India and China have intensified efforts to iron out trade differences, with two high-profile meetings set to take place in coming weeks that will address mutual concerns over anti-dumping investigations and barriers to investment. India initiated 149 anti-dumping cases against China, accounting for more than 50 per cent of all cases India has filed against foreign countries, while at present, 77 anti-dumping measures against China were also in place. In recent years, India also filed more anti-dumping investigations against China than any other country at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). India has filed anti-dumping cases on a range of Chinese products, from toys, textiles and mobile phones to tyres and chemicals. China, on its part, has taken anti-dumping measures on Indian antibiotics. The spate of anti-dumping investigations initiated by India comes against the backdrop of a rising trade deficit, which soared to a record $27 billion last year. Bilateral trade reached $74 billion, propelling China to become India's biggest trade partner. China has voiced objections to visa policies as well as restrictions to investment posed on account of security concerns. India, meanwhile, has called for greater market access for companies in the Information Technology and pharmaceuticals sectors.[Click here for Photic News: FDI ChIndo]
• ·         Iran and world powers agreed in nuclear talks on Saturday to hold a more in-depth meeting in Baghdad on May 23 where, the EU's foreign policy chief warned Tehran, concrete results must be achieved. The talks involved the so-called P5+1 grouping — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — and Iran. The last time Iran met with the P5+1 in Istanbul in January 2011, it quickly became apparent the talks would go nowhere, but this time diplomats said Tehran's delegation had come with a much more constructive attitude.
• ·         George Washington, who led the U.S. victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, has been named as the U.K.'s ‘greatest-ever foe,' according to a survey. In the second place after the first American President was Irish leader Michael Collins, followed by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, German Field Marshal during World War II Erwin Rommel, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder and first President of Turkey. Most of the 20 personalities fought in various colonial wars against Britain, such as Ntshingwayo kaMahole, Zulu leader and victor of Isandlwana, one of the U.K. army's greatest military defeats, and Tipu Sultan, known as the “Tiger of Mysore.” Alongside Rommel, the only Second World War leader was Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese commander who oversaw the fall of Singapore. Also, the Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bai, is the only woman on the list.
• ·         The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, on Saturday, announced it would widen the yuan's daily trading limit against the U.S. dollar to one per cent. Adjusting to the demand of market development, widening the yuan's trading band aims to promote exchange of the Renminbi, boost the yuan's two-way fluctuation flexibility and improve the market-based managed floating exchange rate regime tied to a basket of foreign currencies.
• ·         The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has set up a 12-member-panel , consisting experts from all over the world including India. The aim is to address the global trade challenges and find long-term solutions. The Panel will meet regularly to discuss issues that come in the way of rapidly-growing world. Pradeep Singh Mehta, Secretary general of Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International will represent India. The first Meeting is expected to be on May 16, 2012 in Geneva.